University

New S.C. shuttle to serve college students

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — A new transportation service, Hub City Hopper, based in downtown Spartanburg will serve students living on campus or residents near University of South Carolina Upstate, Converse College or Wofford College, the Spartanburg-Herald Journal reported.

Users will be charged a flat rate of $5 per ride, which runs from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., with plans to add monthly passes in the future.

To use the service, customers visit the service's website, www.hubcityhopper.com, and fill out a ride request form. Users can track the shuttle's whereabouts via the Glympse locator app, according to the report.

The service is meant to promote group travel to downtown Spartanburg, says Hub City Hopper CEO and driver Marty Werner.

The program will focus on increasing access to opportunities; improving multi-modal planning and shared use of infrastructure; advancing innovation and smart cities; and developing data, models and tools.

The university’s $27 million collaboration with Frontt Capital Management, a Shenzhen-based investment firm, will establish a joint research center for intelligent vehicles at the university and a robotics laboratory on North Campus.